Chimney Rock Cemetery, also known as Hanna Cemetery and “the pioneer cemetery,” is located about half a mile from Chimney Rock National Monument in Morill County, Nebraska.
This cemetery is practically at the base of Chimney Rock, which was once an important landmark for people traveling west. The anomaly on the plains let travelers know that the easy part of the trip was over, and next they’d have to navigate some treacherous terrain.
Much of the cemetery is harsh landscape covered with tough plants bearing stickers and burrs. There is a deep rut leading from the entrance to the heart of the cemetery, a path that has probably been walked thousands of times.
Chimney Rock Cemetery was officially established in 1890. It’s still an active cemetery, the most recent burial occurring in 2024. The cemetery is currently owned and maintained by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Burials at Chimney Rock Cemetery
Mary Murray Murdoch, or Wee Granny, has a prominent memorial at the cemetery entrance, but she isn’t buried in this cemetery. Wee Granny was a member of the Martin Handcart Company, which left Iowa in July 1856 to travel on the Mormon Trail to Utah. Wee Granny didn’t make it to Utah.
The 74-year-old woman died about ten miles from Chimney Rock, perhaps closer to the Camp Clarke Bridge Site. She was buried in a shallow grave somewhere along the trail. Her last words, “Tell John I died with my face toward Zion,” are etched in stone on her memorial here.
Mary Murray Murdoch “Wee Granny”
Born Scotland Oct. 13, 1782
Died near Chimney Rock, Neb. Oct. 2, 1856
“Tell John I died with my face toward Zion”
Dedicated by the Murdoch family June 24, 2001
Death records were not kept here until 1917, and there was a 40 year gap between 1940 and 1980 where there were no documented burials here. Most of the earliest gravestones here are for children.
Chimney Rock Symbology at Chimney Rock Cemetery
There are several gravestones here that have the image of Chimney Rock chiseled in them.
Additional Resources
Morill County County Assessor GIS
Inspiring Lessons from Stories of Pioneer Women – Third Hour
Descendants honor faithful ‘Wee Granny’ – Church News, July 28, 2001
Chimney Rock Cemetery – Nebraska Cemeteries
Chimney Rock Cemetery – Find a Grave
Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff – Wandering Jana
Morrill County, Nebraska Genealogy – Family Search
Nebraska Statewide Cemetery Registry Database
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